Okay, so here's my story:
While visiting a friend in Surrey, BC, I recognized that he had several hot pepper plants in his home. Being a chilihead, I enquired and he said he got them(the seeds) from Vietnam on a previous visit home - he is Vietnamese and likes hot peppers. He sent me some seed pods and the rest is history, I have been growing them for years but do not know the type. (Even with long Internet searches).
Some characteristics of this plant:
Pod points up, starts out green, turns black then red. Yes the red pod is hot when eaten. It is not sweet, nor fruity but does have a peppery taste - I know that's a stretch with all the various pepper flavours. I don't believe as hot as a Habanaro but until this year most of my Habanaro's only get to be the size of a pencil eraser head but still have kick at their small size. My peppers pod size averages 5-7 cm. I am going to say thin skin unlike Jalenpo thicker meaty fruit.
It is a true perennial by that I mean, it does overwinter very well and I have plants that have lasted 4 years. I can not get my other pepper varieties to overwinter, the others just go brown and become hollow and I assume die.
The leaf is small unlike Jalapeno, KungPao or Cheyenne. The leaf is fuzzy and the stem of the plant gets white fur as well.
The flower is always white.
At first, I called it a Thai but after looking at several database pictures it doesn't appear to match some descriptions - I am aware crosses can carry differences. I saw the Tobasco pepper picture and kind of thought it may be that variety but with the plant coming from Vietnam, perhaps not.
I think that I have included enough information for our member experts but let me know if I have forgotten any crucial information and I will try my best to fill it in, including more pictures.
Thank you to all who respond.
PS, All my peppers are in containers as I am located in Calgary, Alberta Canada, and our growing season is extremely short, thus the tiny Habanaros. Todays high hit 10C and is raining.
